Luke's Kingdom (1976)
Oliver Tobias stars in this gritty Australian /UK series about British settlers in colonial Australia. With some episodes directed by Peter Weir this wasn't a bit like i was expecting. Jolly historical romp ala Tobias in New Zealand set
Adventurer (1986) this is not. More a precursor to series like
Deadwood and
Black Sails than anything.
What we have is edgy drama as unforgiving as the landscapes Tobias and co are trying to tame.
The treatment of the Aborigines is sickening to see, and it's no better for the convicts sent out there as slaves. Story lines dealt with including soldiers brutally raping a young woman, drought hitting the land - i'm sure the dead sheep were real, you can practically smell their burning bodies, prostitution, incest, squatters, outlaw raiders. It really is 13 episodes of frivolity, laughs and japes.
At least Joseph (Nossing in ze vorld can ztop me now!) Furst makes me smile.
